Ash’s Hat: 5 Things You Need to Know About It

Ash Ketchum is undoubtedly one of the most famous anime protagonists ever. The protagonist of the Pokémon anime has been with us for more than two decades. In this article, we are going to tell you the five most important things you need to know about Ash’s famous hat from the series. The article is going to be divided into five sections, with each section answering one specific question about Ash’s hat.

1. Why does Ash wear his hat backward?

Ash usually flips his hat back, especially when he is intensely concentrating, such as when facing off against another Trainer or catching a Pokémon. This happens mainly in Kanto, as when he finishes his journey in Johto he starts not doing it anymore. Sadly, no official explanation for this phenomenon was given, so all we have is this short description.

2. Why does Ash’s hat change?

The principal reason why Ash’s hat changes was to adapt to the season-related and regional changes that happened in the anime. Each time Ash would start a new chapter on his journey, his hat would change. There doesn’t seem to be any deeper season behind this, so we’ll just continue with an overview of the changes in the hat’s designs.

Ash’s first hat is certainly the most famous of all: the red and white Pokémon League Official Show hat with a green “L” on the forehead, of which Ash claims he “sent over a million postcards” to get it. It looks like Misty tried to win it too, as she sais she sent a postcard too.

Ash wears this hat throughout his journey through Kanto, the Orange Archipelago and Johto, and is very fond of it, becoming angry when a Mankey steals it from him and starts playing with it. The design is probably based on the first generation of Red’s hat and, as seen in the first preparatory sketches of the animated series, it had to be an exact copy.

After returning from Johto, Ash’s mother offers him a change of clothes, which he promptly puts on, while changing his old hat for a new one, black and red with a green Poké Ball symbol. He seems to have no hesitation in changing it. He is believed to have left his old hat at his home in Pallet Town, where it may still be today.

Like the first, his second hat was stolen by a monkey Pokémon which was later captured by Ash, this time an Aipom. In a surprising display of maturity, however, Ash doesn’t climb every tree or yell at Aipom when he steals his hat. Instead he eventually accepts that he may have lost it (or so he thinks), saying that he “feels weird” without it. It must be emphasized, however, that the hat that was stolen by Aipom is not the same one that he had won by sending a million postcards.

At the end of the episode, Aipom returns the hat to him and then follows Ash and his friends to the Kanto Grand Festival where he steals it again. After being captured, Aipom steals Ash’s hat several times even when Pokémon – Ruby and Sapphire series ends and Pokémon – Diamond and Pearl series starts.

Ash rarely flips his hat during the series, only doing so when disguised as an eggplant, when he’s cleaning the dojo, or while sleeping with his Pokémon. He also shoots it in the pivotal moment of the ninth Pokémon movie. Ash receives his DP hat in a box from his mother while in the Sinnoh region.

Even though her clothing varies slightly between the Pokémon – Ruby and Sapphire Series and Pokémon – Diamond and Pearl Series, his hat remains strikingly similar – the only difference is that, while the AG hat’s Poké Ball symbol is green, that of the DP is blue. The DP hat also has a lot more black area around the Poké Ball, remaining more boxy rather than oval like that of the AG hat. Ash only flips this hat once in the entire series, in the fight against Tobias.

In the Pokémon – Black & White Series, Ash wears a red and blue hat. Unlike those seen during the Pokémon – Ruby and Sapphire Series and Pokémon – Diamond and Pearl Series, this hat bears much more resemblance to that of the original, but the forehead is light blue with no line drawing in the middle, just a blue Poké Ball instead. of the stylized “L”. The hat is reminiscent of the one worn by Alcide in Pokémon Black and White.

In the Pokémon – Sun and Moon Series, Ash wears a red hat with a large white symbol resembling a Poke Ball. The hat is reminiscent of that of the male protagonist of Sun and Moon, although red instead of black. This hat continues the tradition of being stolen, this time by Tapu Koko, who wants to lure Ash and Pikachu to a forest to face them, returning it to them when they reach him.

Ash flipped his hat more often in Pokémon – Sun and Moon Series than in the early episodes of most of the others. In I Choose You !, the alternate continuity Ash wears a different hat. It looks very similar to his Pokémon League Official Showcase hat, although the logo has been redesigned to resemble the Poké Ball symbol on his Pokémon Sun and Moon Series hat. This makes it the only hat Ash wore with different outfits.

In I Choose You !, Ash flips his hat twice, both of which while he protects Pikachu. Ash flipped it when Pikachu battled Zeraora. Since it only appeared for a short time, this is Ash’s first hat that has never been stolen by a Pokémon in any of its appearances.

3. What does Ash’s hat symbol mean?

As stated above, the symbol on Ash’s hat changed alongside the hat itself, with each new iteration having a different symbol. Here is an overview of the hats and the symbols:

4. How to get Ash Hat Pikachu?

These Capped Pikachu are exclusive event Pokémon that debuted in Pokémon Sun and Moon and were released to celebrate the animated series’ 20th film and, consequently, the series’ 20th anniversary. As with Ash’s Pikachu, these Pikachu are always male and cannot evolve. In Japan, they also had access to an exclusive Z-Crystal, Ashpikacium Z, and the Z-move Hyperlightning.

In Japan, the Pikachu were distributed via a one-time serial key to those who booked tickets to the 20th film, with one code per ticket. The Pikachu received depended on the date the player redeemed the code, which only worked on Japanese region games. The first time a player used one of these codes, he would also receive Ashpikacium Z.

In the US, PAL, and Taiwanese games, Pikachu were distributed via the single-use serial key “PIKACHU20” posted on Pokémon.com, and similarly to the Japanese event – the Pikachu received depended on the date the player redeemed the code. The first time a player used one of these serial codes, he also received a complementary Ashpikacium Z.

A seventh Pikachu with a cap, wearing Ash’s hat from the twentieth film, is featured in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In Japan, it was released via QR Code on a special Pokémon Ga-Olé disc. In America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, it was distributed via QR Code which was given to anyone who went to see the 20th film.

The Pikachu with the Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola caps were then made available via Wi-Fi Connection and serial key for Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon from November 9 to 30, 2018, with codes distributed on Pokémon.com, to celebrate the launch of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!.

5. How to get Ash’s hat in Sword and Shield?

Pikachu with a cap is not present in these games, despite being based on a Pokémon of the first generation, but it possesses the Pokédex data in Pokémon Sword and Shield and can be imported into the games through Pokémon HOME. An eighth Pikachu with a cap, Pikachu Globetrotter, was added in Version 1.2.0 of Sword and Shield. This Pikachu wears Ash’s hat from Pokémon Explorations – The Series and was officially revealed on September 29, 2020, along with a new distribution for Generation 8 games.